


The Pride

by Kireii-yume (kireii_yume)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Gen, Huddling For Warmth, all the lion headcanons, brief appearance of shiro, lion interaction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 06:35:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9422711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kireii_yume/pseuds/Kireii-yume
Summary: A Canon Alteration in which S2E2's ice was just that tiny bit thicker.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! So, I got this idea from [this imagine ](http://cait-writes-stuff.tumblr.com/post/156158426265/voices-voltron-lions-x-reader) by Cait Writes Stuff. It got me thinking about how, if the lions can intervene to save their paladins, why can't they intervene to save each other when they're needed? I hope you enjoy!

As Lance and Hunk hurtled through the wormhole, both frantically fought to get control of their lions. However, neither were responding. “C’mon, Blue, girl, talk to me!” Lance shouted, shutting his eyes and trying to connect. But something was seriously wrong with her, and she wasn’t responding. 

“Come on, boy, you’ve got this,” Hunk encouraged as Yellow started to flicker back to life. However, they were getting closer and closer to the ground; any attempt to pull out of the descent would very soon prove futile. Hunk gritted his teeth and put every ounce of his energy into bonding with his lion…and just in time, he managed to activate the rocket boosters. He hovered above the thick ice sheet, frantically looking for Lance. Soon a cracking sound echoed through the planet’s atmosphere, and panic shot through Hunk’s heart. “LANCE!” Hunk flew his lion over to the crash and grabbed Blue, knowing that the cracks in the ice sheet, spiderwebbing out, would soon spell out Lance’s doom. Theoretically, their suits were equipped to deal with water, but Blue hadn’t responded. Who knew what had happened to her vital systems? It wasn’t worth risking Lance’s life over. “Lance, are you okay?!” 

“Unggh…” The groan was barely audible, but it was there. Lance was, at the very least, alive. 

“Lance! Talk to me, buddy, talk to me!” 

“Hunk?” Lance whispered, clearly disoriented. 

“Yeah, buddy, it’s me!” Hunk started to tear up. He’d only heard Lance sound like that once before, and that was when the cryo-pod was needed to pull him back from the verge of death. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m…I’m okay,” Lance’s voice crackled through the comm link. “Nothing’s hurt, I’m just worried for Blue. Something’s not working. I mean, I can feel her, she’s awake, but she can’t move.”

“I’ll get out and take a look at her,” Hunk offered, and Yellow opened up obligingly. However, the moment that Hunk stepped out, an indicator on his suit lit up angrily, beeping. The suits were supposed to regulate temperature for the paladins, but clearly, the temperatures on this planet were too extreme for that. Hunk could feel the icy wind buffeting him, and his limbs hurt after just a second exposed. Yellow quickly closed up to preserve his paladin, refusing to open up again. “Actually, can’t do that. Too cold for the suits.” 

“Blue says she’s too cold to move,” Lance reported, his voice laced with fear. Hunk piloted his lion so he could see Blue better, and sure enough, her joints were starting to freeze up.

“Doesn’t she have ice powers?!” 

“Yeah, but something’s really wrong! I don’t know! She’s hurt, Hunk, I don’t know what’s gonna happen if she stays out here too long!”

“Well, give me a minute, I’m going to see if I can lock onto any other locations. Sit tight,” Hunk instructed.

As if Lance had any choice.

\---  
“OK, OK, I think I figured something out!” Hunk exclaimed.

“H-h-hurry,” Lance pleaded. Shortly after Blue’s joints started to ice up, her thermal controls had failed, letting the freezing temperatures in. Lance’s suit helped to keep some of it out—he hadn’t succumbed to hypothermia or frostbite yet—but it was nothing if not uncomfortable. Within minutes, Lance had lost the ability to feel his toes, and moving them became ever harder. The same held for his fingers—it felt like there was a second of delay on his muscles. His nose and cheeks were bright red, and soon Lance had devolved into curling up in a fetal position next to Blue’s console, trying his utmost to think warm thoughts. 

“Solution up! Hang in there!” 

“T-t-trying,” Lance forced through chattering teeth. For about five agonizing minutes, nothing happened. Hunk was talking to himself, but Lance had stopped noticing it, instead trying his hardest to keep warm. He inched closer and closer to the console, which was giving off a tiny bit of heat. Not enough, by any means, but better than nothing. Lance was so focused on that warmth that, at first, he didn’t notice the roaring of the castle ship entering the planet’s atmosphere. 

“Lance, hold on, we’re heading back!” Hunk yelled. Lance nodded, forgetting that Hunk wouldn’t see or hear the gesture, and gripped his chair from the floor. Soon…he’d be warm.

\---  
“So what’s wrong with him?” Keith asked coarsely, trying his utmost to keep the panic out of his tone. When Hunk had been forced to pry Blue’s jaws open for any sort of access to Lance, it had caused all sorts of panic, especially since Shiro was long since in the cryo-pod. Having Hunk carry Lance out, bridal-style, as he barely moved, only caused more concern, especially since Lance couldn’t seem to get warm. 

“Sometimes, when the lions malfunction, that discomfort transfers to the paladins because of the strength of that bond,” Allura explained. “Lance isn’t in danger, but he’ll likely have to endure this cold until the Blue Lion regains control of its temperature.” Lance moaned in Hunk’s arms, still shivering. 

“So the cryo-pods can’t help him?” Pidge asked, craning her neck for a better view at Lance.

“I’m afraid not,” Coran said. “The best remedy would be to just keep him bundled up until we find a way to fix his lion. Hunk, Pidge, come with me and see if we can find a solution. Allura, take Lance.”

“I’ll do it,” Keith volunteered, doing his best to sound disinterested. “Allura could help with the lions—she’s been around them for a while. Maybe she knows better ways.” 

“Excellent idea!” Coran praised. “Hunk, give Lance over to Keith.” Hunk obliged, looking at Keith skeptically. 

“Just don’t kill him, okay?” Hunk stared into Keith’s eyes, trying to find a purpose in this unexpected kindness. 

“I’m not going to kill him,” Keith grumbled with a roll of his eyes as he adjusted Lance in his arms. 

“Your h-h-heart’s beating f-f-fast,” Lance murmured into Keith’s chest, and Keith turned bright red, praying that no one had heard. Luckily, everyone else headed off to the hangar, so the remark had been missed. 

“Just…don’t waste your energy until you get warm,” Keith ordered as he took Lance back to the dorms.

\---  
Red’s eyes opened, lightly illuminating the darkness of the hangar. Something was very, very wrong. Keith was exhibiting distress. Perhaps he needed help. But no, Keith was safely in the castle. So what could be wrong? 

It became clear enough when Red saw Blue lying in a heap on the hangar floor, unmoving, all of her joints frozen.

Worry shot through Red; Blue had never looked this vulnerable. Blue always recovered quickly; perhaps for the best, since her paladin could be reckless at times. And she should have power over ice—why was it taking her over slowly? No matter, something had to be done. And sure enough, Red could do it.

\---  
Pidge, Coran, Hunk and Allura gaped when they saw the red lion moving of its own accord. They’d been trying to get the ice away from Blue’s joints, and it hadn’t been successful at all. But suddenly, Red strode over to them, growling at them in warning. Pidge and Coran didn’t move, but Allura and Hunk ushered them away, despite their curiosity. Red strode over to Blue and seemed to breathe on her. “It looks like the Red Lion is using a less intense version of her fire powers to melt the ice!” Pidge gasped. And sure enough, the ice started to melt. Blue gently flexed her joints, as if awakening from a long sleep, and the remaining ice around them cracked and fell to the floor. Red looked at Blue, seeming to contemplate for a moment, and laid down right next to Blue. It almost looked like they were snuggling close. “Have the lions ever done that, Allura?” Pidge asked.

“I have no idea. I suppose if the lions can act to connect with their paladins, they can connect with each other.”

“Maybe that’s how I got you guys to find us,” Hunk mused. “All I did was use Yellow’s energy. I didn’t know how I did it, but I felt like it might work. Guess it did after a while.” 

“Well, no matter how it happened, I’d wager that Lance is feeling much better,” Coran remarked with a smile. 

\---  
Keith was starting to lose hope. He’d wrapped Lance in every blanket he could find, held him close to share his own body heat, done everything he could think of, and Lance only seemed to get colder. Everything seemed to be going wrong, and Keith couldn’t help but feel like a failure. What else could be done? As Lance shivered again, Keith pulled him closer. At this point Lance was almost unrecognizable in his cocoon of blankets, but that seemed like a necessity, especially since Lance was quickly growing weaker. Lance couldn’t even really focus on what was going on around him. So Keith took that as an opportunity to stroke Lance’s hair, hoping that it would give some semblance of comfort without Lance thinking anything was amiss. After Lance only leaned into his touch, Keith continued, enjoying the contact. But just as Keith let his guard down, Lance wiggled his arms out of the blankets, wrapping them around Keith. Lance pulled himself closer, burying his head in Keith’s chest.

“You’re warm,” he hummed contentedly as he relaxed into Keith’s hold. Keith turned bright red, but soon enough he relaxed back into the rhythm. 

And later, when the rest of the Paladins found them, they were sleeping happily in each other’s arms.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my [ blog ](http://kireii-yume.tumblr.com) and send me stuff!


End file.
